This time James Pallotta managed to keep his suit dry. When the American first introduced himself to Roma's players in January, he caused quite the stir by leaping fully-clothed into an outdoor swimming pool – in near freezing temperatures – at the club's Trigoria training complex. He had just finished delivering a speech on the importance of playing without fear and wanted to provide a visual demonstration.

Back then Pallotta was just another member of the US consortium who had recently completed their takeover of Roma, but in August he replaced Thomas DiBenedetto as the club's president. When he touched back down in the Italian capital last week, it was not just the team's players who gathered to hear what he had to say.

Speaking at his first official press conference since taking on the role, Pallotta was typically forthcoming. He said that the goal was for Roma to win a title within five years – "just as I did with the Boston Celtics" – and for a new stadium to be constructed within the same timeframe. He expressed frustration that the latter process was not further along already.

Pallotta also reassured fans that Daniele De Rossi was not for sale, insisting: "We have not called anyone, and we have not received any calls". Four days later, Pallotta would walk out onto the pitch at the Stadio Olimpico to present the midfielder with a special award commemorating his 400th appearance for the club.

Zeman was unimpressed with the player's performances on the pitch too, relegating him down the pecking order behind new arrivals such as Michael Bradley and Panagiotis Tachtsidis, as well as emerging youngsters like Alessandro Florenzi. The manager argued that De Rossi had never been the playmaking regista that many fans and journalists believed him to be, but implied that the player was also showing insufficient diligence when asked to fill alternative roles.

A red card for punching Stefano Mauri in November's 3-2 defeat to Lazio did De Rossi no favours, earning him a three-game suspension, and upon his return he found himself dropped to the bench. By the time Saturday's game against Milan rolled around, De Rossi had started just seven of Roma's 17 league fixtures – and none since that Rome derby defeat.

On Saturday, though, he was restored to the side. Milan's midfield has not always been noted for its creative capacity under Massimiliano Allegri but Zeman would later insist that his team selection had been based on a desire to restrict the Rossoneri. "I chose De Rossi and Bradley because they know how to break up play," he said. "I wanted to stop their midfield."

Whatever the motivation, Zeman's moves were a resounding success. Roma took the lead through Nicolas Burdisso in the 13th minute, extended their advantage through Pablo Osvaldo not long afterwards and were 3-0 up by the time half an hour had been played. De Rossi had teed up the third with a devilishly disguised through-ball for Erik Lamela, who duly chipped the ball over Milan's Marco Amelia.

That was just one highlight of an impressive performance from De Rossi – one that prompted Zeman to say it would be "very hard to put him back on the bench" any time soon. But that is not to say that De Rossi was necessarily the star of the show.

There were a number of excellent performances throughout the side, from Mauro Goicoechea in goal through to the rejuvenated Totti up front, but if any one player stood out above the rest then it was probably Lamela. It was he who also scored Roma's fourth with a header early in the second half, as well as laying on several opportunities for his team-mates.

Lamela has, alongside Totti, been the outstanding player of the first half of this season for Roma, leading the team with 10 league goals. Converted by Zeman from a trequartista to a wide forward in a 4-3-3, he no longer finds himself taking passes with his back to goal but instead receiving the ball in full flight, running directly at defenders who have no answer for his blend of pace and technique.

Milan would eventually pull two goals back, Giampaolo Pazzini scoring from the penalty spot with five minutes remaining, then the former Roma player Bojan Krkic further reducing the arrears shortly afterwards. The result was never truly in jeopardy and both Milan goals arrived after the hosts had seen Marquinhos sent off for a handball which was deemed to have prevented a goalscoring opportunity.

For Zeman that decision was further evidence of the continued influence exerted by the country's most powerful clubs. The Roma manager had contended before the game that the Giallorossi still lacked the "political weight" of their rivals from Milan and Turin, and consequently were less likely to receive fair treatment from referees.

If that suggestion was provocative (albeit hardly a new one) then Zeman's solution was pragmatic. "The referees can whistle two or three things against you," he had said before the game. "But if you score five goals ..." Roma eventually fell one short of that target, but the four-goal buffer proved more than adequate.

Indeed, after repeatedly blowing leads in the early part of this season, Zeman's Roma do appear to be learning how to close out games. They have won five of their last six going into the winter break, and their sole defeat in that time came against Chievo in a game played under such thick fog that it was difficult to tell whether the winning goal should really have stood.

Their 42 goals through 18 games represent the most of any team in Serie A and even if you remove the three that they were awarded as a consequence of Cagliari's failure to fulfil their fixture back in September, they are still averaging 2.29 per game. Only three teams have given up more goals than the 29 conceded by Roma, but they are making progress in that department – keeping two clean sheets among those last six fixtures.

Talking Points

• As for Milan, Adriano Galliani immediately declared Christmas to have been "ruined", though his plans for the winter break remain unchanged. His first order of business will be to fly to Brazil to secure the sales of at least one – and possibly both – of Robinho and Alexandre Pato. Galliani will be keen to tie those deals up quickly, so as to be able to focus his energies on signing their replacements. There has been much paper talk of potential moves for Wesley Sneijder and Didier Drogba, though at this stage both should be taken with a good pinch of salt.

• Roma were not the only ones to serve up a festive feast of goals, Fiorentina putting three past Palermo – including Stevan Jovetic's delightful cucchiaio from the penalty spot. They might have had several more were it not for some excellent goalkeeping from Palermo's Samir Ujkani. Fiorentina have now scored a remarkable 24 goals from their last eight games, and reach the winter break in third place, above Inter on goal difference.

• Goal of the weekend belonged to Parma's Jaime Valdés, responsible for this violent, dipping effort in his team's come-from-behind win at Bologna. But half-time snack of the weekend belonged to the Bologna fan who managed to smuggle in not only a full-size panettone, but also a knife to cut it with.

• Oh, and miss of the weekend goes to Inter's Marko Livaja, who somehow contrived to hit the post from about half a metre out in the 90th minute of his team's 1-1 draw with Genoa. Had he put it on target, Inter would have gone into the winter break in second place, instead of fourth.

• Instead Lazio are second. They recorded a 1-0 win away to Sampdoria this weekend, and though their approach might not excite in quite the same way as that of their Rome neighbours, their consistency deserves to be lauded. Lazio have dropped just four points in a seven-game run that included games against Juventus, Inter and Roma.

• For Napoli the key man remains, as ever, Edinson Cavani. His goal in the 2-0 win against Siena on Sunday means he will finish the calendar year having scored 42 across all competitions for his club side.

• Juventus, of course, finish the year top of Serie A, leading the division by a comfortable eight points despite losing to both Milan and Inter over the past two months. They closed out 2012 with a 3-1 victory over Cagliari in Parma, of all places, after the Sardinian team's Stadio IS Arenas was once again deemed unfit for use. Asked who the 'anti-Juve' would be in the second half of the season, Gigi Buffon claimed that "there are so many that you don't know who to choose". Gazzetta dello Sport's Sebastiano Vernazza took a different position. "The anti-Juve does not exist," he wrote. "Only Juve can hurt themselves."

• And that's about it. To end on a festive note, here's a video of Lazio players wishing you a very Merry Christmas while wearing jaunty Santa hats (http://www.youtube.com/user/Officialsslazio?feature=watch). Buon natale a tutti!